(57) A coiled-sheet stent includes a tubular body having a longitudinal axis and a circumference,
and a plurality of cylindrical bands formed in the tubular body, each band having
a zig-zag pattern including a series of sequential diagonal elements connected to
one another and extending about the circumference. A plurality of longitudinal connectors
extend between and connect adjacent bands. The diagonal elements have an arcuate shape,
all diagonal elements in each band being orientated in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise
direction about the circumference. The tubular body is expandable between contracted
and enlarged conditions, and the zig-zag pattern is expandable between unstretched
and unstretched conditions, the zig-zag pattern being biased towards the stretched
condition above a transition temperature, thereby at least partially defining the
enlarged condition. A multi-cellular stent structure is also provided that includes
a plurality of bat shaped cells formed in a tubular body, each cell defining a head
region, a tail region and opposing curved wing regions, and a plurality of connectors
extending between and connecting adjacent cells. The head and tail regions of adjacent
cells are directly connected to one another, and connectors extend between adjacent
wing regions of adjacent cells.
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